How to Choose Ripe Fruit
What you should look for when selecting ripe fruit depends on the particular type of fruit you are considering.
Up next in Food Safety & Freshness (34 videos)
Prevent food poisoning and food-borne illnesses with the advice in this Howcast video series.
You Will Need
- Fruit
- Sensory awareness
Steps
-
Step 1
Check the aroma
Check the fruit's aroma. Ripe fruit has a pleasant scent.
-
The pleasing smell of ripe fruit evolved as a cue to animals that the fruit is ready to eat.
-
Step 2
Taste the fruit
Taste similar fruit for sweetness. Many fruit vendors will gladly provide samples to customers.
-
Step 3
Look for softness
Examine the fruit for softness. As fruit ripens their cell walls are broken down by enzymes and the fruit becomes juicy.
-
Step 4
Observe the color
Observe the fruit's color. As fruit ripens, it loses water, causing its surface to take on a waxy sheen.
-
Apples originated in the Caucasian mountains of Asia Minor.
